Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

British Indian Ocean Territory / Chagos Archipelago

James Cleverly: Since the Written Ministerial Statement made on 3 November 2022, the UK and Mauritius have held constructive negotiations on 23 to 24 November 2022, 11 to 12 January 2023 and 23 to 24 February 2023 on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) / Chagos Archipelago. These discussions have built understanding between the two sides, and covered issues relating to ensuring the continued effective operation of the joint UK/US military base on Diego Garcia; resettlement of the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago; strengthening our cooperation on a range of issues such as environmental and marine protection, improving security and tackling illegal activities in the region.As agreed at the outset of negotiations, the UK and Mauritius have taken stock of negotiations and agreed next steps. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) and Prime Minister Jugnauth spoke on 14 February. The Prime Ministers welcomed the progress to date and agreed to continue negotiations, with a view to arriving at an agreement in the coming months.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Infrastructure and Environment Consultation Update

Michael Gove: Today I have launched two formal consultations on proposals to support measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.Infrastructure Levy Technical Consultation Developer contributions play a vital role in mitigating the impacts of new development.The government wants to improve the current system of developer contributions in England to ensure that communities receive a fairer contribution of the profit that typically accrues to landowners and developers. We want to end protracted negotiation of section 106 agreements which hold up development and create confusion about what infrastructure will be provided and what levels of affordable housing will be delivered.Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government is seeking powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy in England. Through the Levy we are aiming to create a swifter, more transparent and streamlined system to fund the provision of affordable housing and important infrastructure such as schools, roads, active travel routes and GP surgeries that support new development.The detailed design of the Levy will be set out in regulations. Today I have launched a technical consultation which will inform the development of the detailed policy that will be set out in those regulations. A further consultation will be carried out on the draft regulations when they are ready and before they are made.This consultation closes on 9 June 2023.Environmental Outcome ReportsOver the past 50 years, much of the UK’s wildlife-rich habitat has been lost or degraded and many of our once common species are in long-term decline. This is despite efforts to address environmental issues using tools such as the EU derived systems of strategic environmental assessment and environmental impact assessment.The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill contains powers to bring forward a new framework for environmental assessment. The proposals are designed to make sure that the value and rigour of environmental assessment is retained and improved, while allowing us to push for better environmental outcomes.The EU derived processes of assessment are overly bureaucratic and lack transparency. Users have told us reports are inaccessible and cumbersome, with important details lost in the thousands of pages. There is too much uncertainty in the process, and gold-plating driven by fear of legal challenge results in excessive reporting rather than clarity about the genuine effects of development on the environment which should be of concern to the decision-maker and communities. In combination, these issues with process have diluted, and undermined, the original purpose of assessment as a tool for protecting the environment.In the new system, Parliament will set clear environmental outcomes against which projects must be considered, introducing clarity and certainty for everyone involved in the process. The reforms will streamline and simplify the assessment process and address the issue of risk aversion by being clear what assessment should cover, and how assessment should be carried out.This consultation sets out how these powers could be used to ensure Environmental Outcome Reports deliver on our ambition to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.Feedback from this consultation will be used to progress the development of the new assessment framework.I have also taken this opportunity to publish our post-implementation reviews of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017, and the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.This consultation closes on 9 June 2023.

Ministry of Justice

Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review - Publication and Interim Response

Dominic Raab: Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and we are committed to ensuring that the most serious offenders spend longer in prison. Women should feel safe in their own home and our sentencing framework must reflect the seriousness of violence and abuse committed by those closest to them.The Government commissioned an independent expert, Clare Wade KC, to review sentencing in domestic homicide cases to establish whether current law and sentencing guidelines are fit for purpose and identify options for reform.Today, I am publishing Ms Wade KC’s Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review (the ‘Wade Review’) and announcing a package of proposed reforms to change the law so that sentencing reflects the seriousness of domestic homicides. The published review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-homicide-sentencing-review.The Wade Review makes a number of other recommendations and the government's position will be outlined in a full response to be published before the summer recess. The measures announced today demonstrate our commitment to delivering tougher sentences for the perpetrators of these horrific crimes and allow for necessary legislation to be introduced as soon as possible. All recommendations in the review and the measures announced today apply to England and Wales.We will increase sentences for murderers with a history of controlling or coercive behaviour against the victim.The Serious Crime Act 2015 introduced the criminal offence of controlling or coercive behaviour. Controlling or coercive behaviour can comprise economic, emotional or psychological abuse. It does not relate to a single incident, but a purposeful pattern of behaviour over time. Controlling or coercive behaviour by the perpetrator towards the victim was identified in 51% of the murder cases analysed for this Review.Despite around a quarter of all homicides being classed as domestic, the legislation which sets out the sentencing framework for murder does not currently specifically account for the abuse that the victims in these cases often experience before death.The review recommends that a history of coercive or controlling behaviour should be added to the statutory aggravating factors to murder. We will introduce legislation to make this change as soon as possible to ensure abuse experienced before death is properly considered and serious offenders are kept off our streets for longer.We will consider further reform by consulting on whether the starting point should be 25 years for murders preceded by controlling or coercive behaviour. While the addition of a history of coercive or controlling behaviour as a statutory aggravating factor to murder will be an immediate step to increase sentences, we do not rule out further reform to ensure perpetrators are kept behind bars for longer.We will launch a public consultation this summer seeking views on whether there should be a starting point of 25 years for cases of murder where the perpetrator has controlled or coerced the victim before killing them. The current sentencing framework recognises the particular seriousness of the illegal possession and use of knives in public with a 25-year starting point for murders where a weapon used has been taken to the scene with intent. It is important that this starting point is maintained and therefore we will not be accepting the recommendation made in the Wade Review to disapply it from domestic cases. The sentencing framework must recognise the seriousness of anyone who walks onto our streets with a knife, intending to use it to cause harm. However, the changes announced today will ensure that the framework also recognises the particular seriousness of domestic murder, and this consultation will ensure all reform options have been fully explored.We will make ‘overkill’ a statutory aggravating factor in the sentencing framework for murder.Overkill is defined in the Wade Review and wider literature as the use of excessive or gratuitous violence, beyond that necessary to kill. It amounts to violation of the body and causes intense distress to the families of victims. Overkill is prevalent in domestic murders and was identified in 60% of the cases analysed for this Review.The Wade Review recommends that overkill should be added to the statutory aggravating factors to murder. This would mean that a judge must consider increasing an offender's minimum custodial term where overkill has occurred. We will introduce legislation to make this change as soon as possible. It will ensure that the horror of overkill is recognised in statute and that the anguish it causes the families of victims is taken into account when sentencing such cases.Building on our ban of the ‘rough sex defence’ in the Domestic Abuse Act, we want to see longer sentences for perpetrators of so-called rough sex manslaughter. We are requesting that the Sentencing Council update their guidelines and will keep under review the need for legislation. The government is clear the ‘rough sex defence’ is not recognised in law as a person is legally unable to consent to “serious harm”, including where it results in death. However, there continues to be concern about apparent low sentences given in some cases of manslaughter where consent to so-called rough sex is argued.The review recommends manslaughter sentencing guidelines should be amended to consider the offender highly culpable where death occurs during violence alleged to be consensual during a sexual encounter, and therefore impose a higher sentence.The production or revision of sentencing guidelines is a matter for the independent Sentencing Council. However, today I will ask the Council, which has a statutory duty to consider my request, to consider revising sentencing guidelines to reflect the recommendation made in the Wade Review. While this is our preferred approach, we will keep legislative options under review to ensure we can deliver reform.These measures build on our zero-tolerance approach to violence against women and girls by ensuring that sentencing delivers justice for the victims and families.I am very grateful to Clare Wade KC for her work on this review. I would also like to pay tribute to Carole Gould and Julie Devey for their tireless campaigning after the tragic murders of their daughters, Ellie Gould and Poppy Devey-Waterhouse.